I've began watching Return of the Condor Heroes (2006). Up to episode 7, and I think this show is fucking horrible so far. I've seen some other Jin Yong adaptations before- I've watched Legend of the Condor Heroes (2003) and Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils (1997 and 2003) and I liked all of them. This show, however, is just horribly done because it makes no attempt to let you know who any of the people you are watching are and what in the hell is going on.

The directing and pacing are all over the place and the way the show is edited just gives me a headache. It also really knocks you out of the show when they start blaring music from The Dark Knight during serious moments. I get that Chinese shows have done this before, but it's pretty distracting that they took music from a movie that was not only recent, but also very popular, not to mention they chose the most recognizable song from the series (Molossus).

Add on top of that they chose a really awful actor to portray Yang Guo as both a child and an adult. I get that he's supposed to be a bit annoying given his backstory, but the actor for him is just awful. I have previously seen Huang Xiaoming in Da Han Tian Zi and I liked him there, but he's terrible at playing a manchild character in a way that doesn't make me want to turn the show off.

I really want to give this story more of a chance because more people seem to like The Return of the Condor Heroes as opposed to the prequel, but so far this is a really bad adaptation.

New Girl this week was golden!!Winston having sex to Titanic to help his focusing issues was grand. Nick's younger personas are equally gross and hilarious. Fat Schmidt is out of this world awesome. And Cece gets mad respect for her "first time".

Orphan Black is awesome. I'm digging the speed the series moves at but still keeps it interesting and suspenseful along the way.

The Office had Jim and Pam hook up again because Pam remembered "love" and presto. That's a plot arc finished.

Game of Thrones started kind of weak, but it's getting better and better this season. ANy word on how many books there's going to be?

Hannibal was especially gruesome. Not keen on how it wrapped up, and I'm not sure how much I dig the constant issues in Will's head, but it's a great series nonetheless.

Game of Thrones started kind of weak, but it's getting better and better this season. ANy word on how many books there's going to be?

There's supposed to be seven total.

A Game of Thrones A Clash of Kings A Storm of Swords A Feast for Crows A Dance with Dragons The Winds of Winter (tentatively titled, not yet released) A Dream of Spring (tentatively titled, not yet released)

We've s l o w l y been going through Season 2 of Game of Thrones. Just watched Blackwater last night. It was pretty darn good, but I couldn't help but think how much better it could have been in a 2 hour time slot. The ending was so darn abrupt. That's the one thing I didn't like about it. They needed another 20 minutes or so to flesh it out.

Been watching all the new eps of Doctor Who as well. Kind of fun, but nothing amazing. I wish Moffat would stop with the whole mysterious companion thing.

Yeah, there's to be two books after A Dance with Dragons, but who knows how long GRRM will take. It's true that two seasons of the show will cover A Storm of Swords - not just because its long, but because SO MUCH SHIT happens. I like reading the books first, especially since you get a little more context. For me even though I read the books (still in ASOS), I think I enjoy the show just as much as if I hadn't. Not everything is true to the books, and what is, is neat to see played out onscreen after I've read the book version (Dany and the Unsullied, for one).

Actually, one think I like about the A.V. Club's coverage and reviews on Game of Thrones [TV] is that it's covering it for "novices" and "newbies" -- people who have read the book and those who haven't. Most of the time they're pretty evenly reviewed (a good sign?). but yeah, if there is a difference in the grade, the lower one usually gets handed to the reviewer who read the books.

Doctor Who: The Crimson Horror: Finally an episode I can say I enjoyed with there being a "but" attached to the end. It was thoroughly entertaining and well acted, which surprised me since I thought they had all forgotten how to act since the start of this season.

Next week is Neil Gaiman's episode, I like his stuff a lot so hopefully this will be good. My main worry is the two kids that are tagging along...they look really annoying.